Friday, May 29, 2009

When researching ancestors in Wood County you must do some of your research at the main library in Bowling Green. They hold a variety of sources that include.

Cemeteries

Bound indexes are available for the cemeteries in the following townships: Bloom, Freedom,Grand Rapids, Henry/Jackson, Lake, Liberty, Milton, Montgomery, Plain, Perry, Perrysburg,Portage, Troy, Washington, Webster, Weston. There are also indexes for Bradner (Town),Eisenhour, Fort Meigs Union, and Oak Grove Mausoleum.

Census Records

The census for Wood County is on microfilm for the years 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870,1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. The U.S. census for 1890 was destroyed by fire; theWood County special 1890 census of war veterans is available.

Bound indexes for the 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910 areavailable for Wood County, as well as indexes for the Ohio Census for the years 1820, 1830,1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.

Directories

Older Bowling Green City Directories, Wood County Directories and Bowling GreenTelephone Directories and Wood County Telephone Directories are shelved in the lockedcase. A staff member will unlock these materials for your use.

Family Histories

The Local History area has many bound family histories catalogued as 929.2. These booksare shelved in a special Family History collection. Additional family history material innotebooks, folders, and envelopes is located in drawers labeled Family History.Ancestor charts are also available in the Local History area. The charts are in notebooks, andthere is a surname index that identifies the names that have a chart on file. There is also anonline index to the Ancestor charts. Copies of the charts are available for purchase throughthe Wood County Genealogical Society.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The fantastic thing about obits in Northwest Ohio is that most of them have been indexed. All of the information is available on line and can be ordered on line. The wonderful list is located on the Hayes Obituary Index. RB Hayes Obituary Index

The other location to locate these records is at the library in Norwalk as well at the Norwalk County Genealogical Connections.

Make sure to make copies. Note the date and page as well as the name of the newspaper for these records.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The discovery of a ancestors will offers valuable clues to ones life and relatives listed in the will. This document will provide valuable clues to a persons life that you will not find anywhere else in your search. Wills for the county of Huron exist in the court house at the probate court in Norwalk and the archives in Bowling Green.

The courthouse records are located in the Probate Court and run from 1852 to present. Be sure to know the approximate time of death and work back from that date to locate your will. Time varies on the filing of a will from days to years. Sometimes these searches can be extensive.

The archives in Bowling Green has those wills that run from 1903 to 1911. All these records are on microfilm.

Be certain to make copies of these documents so that your are able to trace all the names in the document. Wills offer valuable clues to blood relationships that may not be available in any other document. Daughters are often listed with maiden names and executors on the will may also be relatives with different last names.

Other than land records wills are the most valuable document in determining relationships within a family group. Have a wonderful day.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Death records in Huron County are stored and available at two different locations. The first is at the courthouse in Norwalk and the archives in Bowling Green, OH. Provide valuable information concerning our relatives and relationships.

The courthouse records start in Huron Co and run from 1867 to current. It is here that you can obtain the certified copies. As I always say if you are visiting in person be sure to call ahead to make sure they will be open when you are coming and be patient if you are going in person or mailing in your request.

The second area to locate the death records would be at the archives in Bowling Green. The archives has copies of both the index and the actual death records. Their information only runs from 1867 to 1908. All these files are on microfilm.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

For those of us that are conducting research in Hancock county the primary resource for information here is located at the public library. The room to visit is the local history room located at the main library. The collection includes-

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The county of Huron started recording marriage records in 1818. This is a very early period of time as compared to many other counties. The records are located at the courthouse in Norwalk as well as the Bowling Green Archives. The records at the court house are up to now and up to 1977 in Bowling Green.

During my own research I have traced my ancestors through this county and I was amazed that they had marriage records as such a early date. All of the records are indexed and many of them have also been published. Be sure to pay special attention on marriage records to who the witnesses are on the document. They often provide valuable clues to family relationships that are often overlooked when doing your genealogy. Be sure to make copies of this document, because some of the names don't always stick out as clues immediately. In my family a person listed on a marriage record as a witness later was traced to be the maiden name of the mother once I traced the family back into Northeast Ohio.

Tomorrow I will be going over the death records of the county. Thank you again for your support and please send any questions or ideas you might have.

What was it that first got you doing your genealogical research? In my case it started over thirty years ago. Was in my teens at the time and was very curious about where my family came from. My interest in history grew out of this and my eventually getting into speaking, researching for others and blogging on the topic. Please send me your stories.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Don't think to many folks check this blog out much, but I guess I will just write for myself and hope that people are able to come back to the site. I will resume covering the various records that are available for the various counties. If you have ideas on topics that you would like to see covered please do not hesitate to contact me.